The Banana Plantations of Compostela: A History of Struggle
Export banana plantations began in Compostela, Compostela Valley Province, in 1992. The plantations are run as growerships, in which primarily small landowners (1.5 ? 16 hectares) enter into a contract with the company to provide a certain volume of bananas for a period of 20 years. When they began, Compostela?s plantations were operated by Standard Philippine Fruit Company, or Stanfilco, the banana division of Dole in the Philippines. Packing Plants 90, 92, 95, 98, and 99 are housed in Compostela.
The first unions were built in 1992. The workers of Packing Plants 90, 92, and 95 were members of unions under the yellow federation Alliance of Labor Unions (ALU), which was replaced by the National Federation of Labor in 2000. Packing Plant 99 had an independent, management union, while the workers of Packing Plant 98 were able to establish a genuine union led by Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) in 1996.
The brutal murder of IFI Bishop Alberto Ramento has galvanized the resolve of the church?s priests and followers in Davao City, vowing to continue the pro-people struggles of a beloved man who devoted his life to the masses. Davao Today managing editor Cheryll D. Fiel reports.